Search and Seizure of Electronic Pagers: A Federal Case Law Review

• NCJ Number: 184092
• Journal: Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 10 Issue: 3 Dated: 1999 Pages: 343-362
• Author(s): Lisa Kay Decker
• Editor(s): Nancy Koser Wilson
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Because advances in technology outstrip the ability of law enforcement to address address technology-related issues and such is the case in the area of electronic pagers, this article reviews case law on the search and seizure of electronic pagers.

Abstract

The use of electronic pagers by drug dealers has been a standard for many years, yet there are relatively few cases dealing with the search and seizure of electronic pagers. Federal cases and a few State court cases are reviewed that involve decisions related to the search and seizure of electronic papers. Issues addressed in the article include the application of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the reasonable expectation of privacy in an electronic paper, the warrantless search of an electronic pager based on the exigent circumstance of destruction of evidence, the search of an electronic pager incident to a lawful arrest, the search of an electronic pager pursuant to a general search warrant, and the search of an electronic pager based on consent. Case law indicates the ECPA does not apply to the retrieval of messages from an electronic pager but does apply to the use of clone pagers to intercept electronic messages. In addition, several cases have been decided recognizing a right to privacy in an electronic pager similar to the right of privacy associated with an address book. Conversely, cases have held that a person sending a message to an electronic pager has no expectation of privacy in the electronic pager receiving the message, comparing the electronic pager message to a message left on an answering machine. Further, courts have refused to give blanket permission for the warrantless search of an electronic pager pursuant to the destruction of evidence exception to the general warrant requirements. Courts have instead looked to individual circumstances and evidence presented in each case to decide whether an exigent circumstance existed to allow a warrantless search to prevent the destruction of evidence. Most cases concerning the search of an electronic pager incident to a lawful arrest have held that an electronic pager's contents may be thoroughly search when on the person of the arrested subject. 60 notes